tler bodies comes into close and more intimate touch with the physical brain and it is
possible to become aware of the subtler vehicles and the luminosity which is associ-
ated with them.
An additional advantage to the Sadhaka of this ‘contact’ with the subtler vehi-
cles is that the mental images which he has to work with in Dharana and Dhyana be-
come very precise and almost tangible. The cloudy and blurred mental images which
an ordinary person is able to form in his brain are replaced by clear-cut and sharp im-
ages in the subtler vehicles. These are manipulated and controlled with far greater
ease.
- And the fitness of the mind for concentration.
The second result of Pranayama practice is that it prepares the mind for the
practice of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi—Antaranga Yoga. The capacity to form
vivid and sharp mental images and to be able to see them clearly is necessary for prac-
tising Dharana effectively. As long as our mental images are blurred and confused it is
not easy to concentrate on them or manipulate them, as all people who try to meditate
know from practical experience. The mind does not seem to get a good hold on them
and they tend to slip away easily. Pranayama by removing this difficulty facilitates
concentration to a great extent. To say that Pranayama is absolutely necessary for
Dharana will perhaps not be justifiable in view of the success attained by followers of
other schools of Yoga also. But that it helps enormously in the practice of Dharana
there can be no doubt. That is why Patanjali has made it an integral part of his Yogic
technique.